I think Toulouse will open a massive can of woop on us n show us 4 the team we are (average)

Just cant see anything other than a complete battering. Love to be wrong, but I honestly fear we could see something very bad.

The club do seem to be trying to drum up some business, it's a start but tweeting on the club twitter is just preaching to the few that know, I cant see it gaining new fans.

You know am just re reading a really good book, 13 winters, does actually say a lot of folks love affair with there chosen club started with a defeat in first game they saw.
Its not all about seeing a winning performance, a lot is about experience of the game. So the club have offered the opportunity win or lose.

While I don't expect anything but a defeat ( considering we'll still have a number of our recent academy graduates filling in for injured experienced players ) what really gets on my churns is the number of people on here, supposedly London supporters, who would wish us to get slaughtered .

It's not wishing we get slaughtered it's the reality that we are a very poor quality(Full time) team coming up against a very strong team and the likelihood is, given both teams recent Fev results, that we will get slaughtered.

Exactly right. However there's more to the equation than that. You can often win new / returning fans via a battling defeat in front of a vibrant crowd. There's also plenty of cross sport fan engagement research that a one sided battering is one of, if not the best way, of making sure first timers don't return. It also reinforces existing negative perceptions that caused fans to stop going / think about stopping going and may harm the club who did the offer n that way.

If the offer has driven a response, as an aside as a near two decades ex season ticket holder I haven't been notified of it yet by the club, it is critical the team defy the widespread expectation of this game. Off field there could be a lot riding on it.

I had hoped to return for this one however my elderly dog is clearly into her last few days so I'll stay home with her. Here's hoping I miss a thriller in front of a big gate of returning fans and new people.

Hadfield wrote 13 Winters over 25 years ago. We now exist in a world that demands instant gratification & therefore to attract & retain new fans, winning is probably essential. I take on board Halfdan's battling defeat might get lapsed fans to come again but I'm not sure it's a given.

People want to associate themselves with success which is why there are so many Manure & Scouse fans in London. In Wimbledon & surrounds, you see some AFC shirts but nothing like the number of Chelsea shirts. Not scientific but indicative.

Didn't predict the club would be serving curry & rice. You might have thought with the Kermits in town they'd of gone beef bourguignan. Just as easy to do in bulk really.

Also absolutely correct. A battling defeat in front of a vibrant crowd is more likely to tempt back lapsed fans who have taken up the offer than convert newbies on the spot.

Some new fans MAY fall in love with the sport on the day but lots of research into attracting new crowds show it's usually a slower process. It's more likely it would tempt a newbie into being interested enough to return. That then gives you a chance of gaining them long term.

Hopefully the club will have offers in the pan for people who fit that criteria for the next home game. A jump back to £25 pay on the day would surely dis-incentivize any newbies who enjoy this weekend.

The experience of existing clubs world wide shows re-generating or generating is usually a mid to long term process and achieved by various methods. There's rarely one magic bullet. One cheap ticket offer wouldn't do it even of you saw the best match in the history of RL

That sounds about right to me Halfdan. I wonder what made the club push (in relative terms) this match. Have they noticed the circa 50%? drop in attendances and thought this was a potential big gate or noticed the drop and thought this might be a catastrophically low gate? Either way I hope it will be a decent game but our squad looks very thin and TO look big and tricky and we have found big difficult to deal with.

So sorry to hear the sad news about your dog Halfdan, hope their last few days are as peaceful as they can be.